John teeadway



NrTnD STATES PATENT Trice,

IMPROVEMENT FOR MOLDING AND PRESSING BRICKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 46,956, dated March 21, 1865.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, JOHN TREADWAY, of Haverstraw, in the State of N ew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machinery for Molding and Pressing Bricks 5 and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof', reference being had to the aceompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of a machine on my improved plan, and Fig. 2 a vertical section thereof.

The same letters indicate like parts in all the gures.

My said invention relates to improvements in that class of machines for molding and pressing bricks which are operated by horsepower.

In the accompanying drawings, a represents the tube or case in which the clay is to be tempered, and b a vertical shaft which is to be provided with the usual means for working the clay and gradually forcing it down to the bottom and toward the aperture c, where it is forced into the hopper d ofthe press, as usually employed in this class of machines. Below the hopper of the press is the usual bed, e, on which the molds f rest during the operation of molding and pressing the bricks, and on which they slide when filled.

The molds, after they have been filled, and while the pressure is still bearing on the clay, are forced out from under the grating g, which forms the bottom of the hopper, which operation cuts off the cla r smoothly at the upper surface of the molds, and when this operation has been attempted to be effected by powermachines-such as driven by horse-power or steam-the machinery was liable to be broken if a stone or other hard substance in the clay happened to get partly in the molds and partly in the grating at the bottom of the hopper. This diiiiculty is entirely avoided by my improvement. The molds, as usual in this class of machines, are forced out by a driver, h, which slides on the bed e, and between ways which guide its movements.

lower is connected by two connecting-rods, i, with arms j, proj ectin gfrom a rock-shaft, 7c, the outer end of which is provided with another rllhis folarm, l. To the outer end of the arm lis hinged one end of a lever, m, which carries a weight at the other end, and this lever is connected by a connecting-rod, n, with what may be termed a cam-lever,77 o, at the upper part of the frame. Now, when the cam-lever o is lifted, it operates the weighted lever m, and if the resistance presented to the rock-shaft k is greater than the resistance due to the weight on the lever, that end of the lever which carries the weight will be lifted and the rockshaft 7c will not be operated; but the weight on the lever should be such as to present a greater resistance to the motion of the lever than will be presented by the molds when there is no obstruction-such as a stone or other foreign matten-extending from the gratinginto the molds, and therefore solong as there is no such obstruction the lifting of the cam-lever o through the weighted lever m will operate the rock-shaft to force the filled molds from under the press; but when the molds meet with some undue resistance, the weighted end of thelever my rises, and thereby avoids the breaking of the molds or other parts of the machinery.

The cam-lever o is operaed by a crank-pin, 19, on the outer end of a horizontal shaft, q, which receives motion by bevel cog-wheels r ands from the vertical shaft, which is to be turned by horsepower or other motor. The

crank-pin p in about one-half ofits revolution travels in an open space in the lever o, first against the upper and then against the lower surfaces of this open face, which is of a camlike form, as represented, so that the crankpin in acting on the lower of the said surfaces depresses the lever to force back the follower h, that an empty mold may be placed under the hopper of the press, and then, in passing through the open space from the lower to the upper surface, does not operate the lever, and during that interval of time themold is being charged with clay, and then the crank-pin on reaching and acting against the upper surface of the said open space of the lever lifts the lever to operate the rock-shaft to force out the filled molds or to lift the weighted lever, if there should be any serious obstruction tothe movement of the molds.

The platen t of the press is operated by a crank, u, on another horizontal shaft, @,which receives motion from the same vertical shaft by bevel-gears s and x.

rlhe lower end of the connecting rod i/ on the crank n is formed with a projecting' pin, a', on the front and back faces, and it is tted to slide freely up and down in the space between two standards, b b, of the platen t of the press, which standards are formed with grooves on the inner faces for the pins to slide in, the length of these grooves determining the distance 'that the connecting-rod y can slide between the standards of the platen. And these standards are formed with a series ot' cross-grooves, c c c, in either ot' which a wedgeekey, d, can be inserted, and as this key, wherever placed, is below the lower end ot the connecting-rod, Athe shifting of the key will vary the distance that the rod can move down without giving motion to the platen.

As the connecting-rod receives a positive motion from the crank u, and sometimes the hopper of the press contains more cla-y than at others, and the range of motion ofthe platen should be reduced in proportion to such quantity, the attendant can, by shifting the wedge-key, readily set the platen to the required range of motion, and thus prevent the machine from being broken.

I am aware that the connecting-rod has before been connected with the platen so as to accomplish the same result, but by means neither so cheap, simple, or easily adjusted.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent in that part of the above-described machinery for driving out the molds, is

l. The weighted lever, in combination with the rock-shaft and its arms, or the equivalents thereof, and the cam-lever operated by the crank, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

2. The platen, withits two standards with cross-grooves to receive the wedge-key, in combination with the connecting-rod adapted to slide between the said standards, and provided with projecting pins adapted to slide in longitudinal grooves in the standards, as and for the purpose described.

JOHN TREADVVAY.

Witnesses WM. H. Brsnor, ANDREW DE LACY. 

